ORANGE VILLAGE -- After trekking 382 miles across Alaska last year, resident Doug Bahniuk will bike another 518 miles across the state this year.

Bahniuk, 58, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2003, a disease he calls “interesting” and “difficult to diagnose.”

He noticed he was having trouble with balance and slurring his words years before his diagnosis. He later lost his sense of smell. Even though his early symptoms were not recognized by doctors as Parkinson’s, Bahniuk said if someone did contract the disease, there was nothing to do about it except give him medication for the symptoms.

He said as long as he is current with his medications, he stays in pretty good shape. Regardless of his condition, Bahniuk has decided to bike more than 900 miles across Alaska to raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease.

“I think it’s a very dramatic thing to do . . . it’s tough,” he said. “I don’t know if I will come out of this. It will be an extremely difficult ride.”

Bahniuk’s bike ride will take him from Prudhoe Bay to Anchorage, Alaska. He will go to Deadhorse, then he will travel 250 miles to the next location with civilization, Coldfoot, with a permanent population of 13. He said Coldfoot has more moose, wolves and bears than people.

He said when he got to Fairbanks, Alaska after last Year’s 382-mile ride, he thought the trip was easy. He decided to complete more than 500 more miles of riding this year to make it a bit more challenging.

Bahniuk will fly to Fairbanks July 17 and take a day to gather supplies and put his bike together. On July 19, he will take the shuttle service to Deadhorse and spend the next day checking everything on his bike and getting ready for the ride.

Starting July 21, his plan is to ride 50 miles a day, and he hopes it will only take him five days to finish his route. He plans to be back in Ohio in early August after he recovers from his ride.

He is taking 10 pounds of food on his trip and about a gallon of water. For fear of eating and drinking everything before Day 5, he will try to complete the ride in four days, if possible.

Bahniuk’s bike is equipped with a spare tire and spare inner tubes, lots of patches, spokes, screwdrivers and other basic bicycling tools. He will also carry two bike pumps, in case one fails. A sleeping bag, a tent, a ground mat, a camera and a clean change of underwear will also be a part of his travels.

“Comfort and cleanliness are not prime motivations on something like this,” he said.

Parkinson’s will come into play during Bahniuk’s ride. He said the disease has a tendency of affecting one side of his body more than the other. His left foot might rotate to the outside of his body and jerk itself out of the pedal. Also, when his medications start to wear off, his body becomes increasingly stiff, making it look as if he “walks like a zombie.”

“I want to do what I can to help defeat this disease. It’s terrible and nasty. It gets very little recognition, unlike breast cancer or AIDS that have big rallies and such,” Bahnuk said.

“With Parkinson’s, it’s a terrible, lousy disease, but not a lot of people do these things for them. I want to make people aware of this disease and its symptoms and encourage others to do what they can to defeat it.”

To follow Bahniuk’s ride across Alaska, or to make a donation to the fight against Parkinson’s, visit his blog at dougswildride.wordpress.com.

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